Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Berlin tomorrow (19 October) for a summit on Ukraine amid escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia’s role in Ukraine as well as Syria.

The meeting between the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders (in the so-called “Normandy Format”) will “evaluate the implementation” of the Minsk peace accords for Ukraine, Berlin and Paris said today (18 October).

The meeting has been in preparation for some time, but there have been concerns over whether it would take place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Berlin on 19 October for talks with some leaders of the European Union and Ukraine to discuss a solution to the Ukrainian crisis, a Kremlin aide told reporters yesterday (10 October).

Putin’s first visit to the German capital since the Ukraine conflict broke out in 2014 will come the day before the 28 leaders of the European Union are due to discuss relations with Russia including sanctions over Ukraine, which come up for renewal at the end of the year.

Next month, European Union leaders will explore the possibility of improving strained ties with Russia in response to growing irritation among some member states over economic sanctions imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

The EU summit in Brussels is also expected to discuss Russia’s role in Syria, which sparked a furious row between Russia and France last week that prompted Putin to cancel a visit to Paris.

EU foreign affairs ministers yesterday (17 October) condemned Russia’s air campaign in Syria, saying it may be guilty of war crimes, and it vowed to impose more sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Wednesday’s Ukraine summit will also “discuss the next steps in the process towards ending the crisis in eastern Ukraine”, he French president’s office said today.

All sides agreed to a peace deal brokered by Germany and France in February 2015, but while the so-called Minsk accords reduced the intensity of fighting, they failed to stop it (see background).

Even before the meeting convened, Kyiv and Moscow tamped down hopes for a breakthrough.

“Let’s not have very high expectations on this meeting,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on a visit to Oslo.

“Am I optimistic enough? Yes, I’m very optimistic about the future of Ukraine but unfortunately not so optimistic about tomorrow’s meeting.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin believed there was “no alternative” to implementing the Ukraine accords.

“We know that on this point, the situation leaves much to be desired,” he said. “For the moment, Kyiv is doing nothing.”

The summit, set in a flurry of telephone consultations, will be the first since a Paris meeting in October 2015 under the so-called “Normandy Format” grouping the four countries.

It will take time to organise elections in Ukraine that respect international standards and as a result, the so-called Minsk peace process will run into next year, French President François Hollande said yesterday (2 October).

‘More dangerous’ than Cold War

French President François Hollande last week called on all parties in the Ukraine conflict to draw up a roadmap to end the crisis.

French President François Hollande called on all parties in the Ukraine conflict to draw up a roadmap to end the crisis, after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart yesterday (13 October) in which he urged early elections to be held in rebel-held Eastern Ukraine.

The aim would be to help Ukraine regain control of its borders with Russia, he said after speaking by telephone with Poroshenko.

Hollande had spoken Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Putin about organising a summit on the conflict.

Moscow has denied accusations that it has sent troops and weaponry across its border with Ukraine to fuel the conflict, which erupted in April 2014, destroying much of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.

Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has monitors in eastern Ukraine.

Although focused on Ukraine, the Berlin meeting comes against the backdrop of the Syrian regime’s Moscow-backed assault on Aleppo, which the EU has warned could amount to a war crime.

Britain, France and Germany aim to persuade the European Union today (17 October) to condemn Russia’s devastating air campaign in Syria and pave the way for imposing more sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

EU foreign ministers said Monday (17 October) they would press ahead with extending sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but stopped short of threatening measures against Russia.

Moscow on Monday announced an eight-hour “humanitarian” ceasefire in Aleppo later this week, as friction with the West has intensified.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned earlier this month that mounting tensions between the United States and Russia have created a situation that is “more dangerous” than the Cold War. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev issued a similar warning.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned today (10 October) that the world has reached a “dangerous point” as tensions between Russia and the United States spike over the Syria conflict.

Relations between the two have nosedived since a Syria ceasefire they agreed to in September fell apart in less than a week. Washington has also accused Damascus and Moscow of staging war crimes in Aleppo.

At least 250,000 people are living under siege in rebel-held east Aleppo, and facing almost-daily heavy bombing since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city last month.

Background

The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine (the so-called Normandy format) gave their support to a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, following 17-hour long negotiations in the Belorussian capital Minsk on 12 February.

The four leaders committed to respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a joint declaration.

Western leaders are closely observing the implementation of the Minsk agreement.

On 2 March 2015, European leaders said that they agreed that the OSCE needed a broader role as observers of the ceasefire, and weapons removal.

On 2 October 2015, the leaders of the Normandy format admitted that it would take time to organise elections in Ukraine that respect international standards and as a result, the so-called Minsk peace process would run into next year.

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One response to “Merkel to host Putin for Berlin summit on Ukraine”

Too late Frau Merkel. Putin has been under enormous pressure from the Russian oligarch elites to take a tougher stand against the Americans. Now having just about kicked the Americans out of Syria I think he will be successful in kicking them out of Ukraine, at least economically, with the help of Turkey via the Black Sea gas pipeline that will completely by pass all Russian gas transient through Ukraine in the future. Let’s be honest, the proposed pipeline under the sea and passing through Turkey is of very little benefit to Turkey so why else is Turkey partnering with Russia to build it? Putin will come to Berlin holding all the aces.